JPH0465480B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention is most suitable for application to, for example, a tape cassette for a video tape recorder, and is particularly applicable to a tape cassette provided vertically in a cassette housing. It has a through hole and a plug inserted into the through hole so as to be movable up and down and rotatable around the vertical axis, and cassette information is detected by the up and down position of the plug in the through hole. The present invention relates to a tape cassette configured to

[Conventional technology]

This type of tape cassette is designed to detect the vertical position of the plug in the through hole using an information detection sensor on the video tape recorder side, thereby making it possible to check various cassette information such as preventing accidental erasure. be. Regarding this, the applicant has previously filed a patent application.
No. 59-152603 was filed.

In the invention of this application, the lower end of the plug is formed into a beveled shape by a pair of engaging claws extending in the radial direction, and two step portions are provided vertically spaced apart in the through hole. The plug is inserted into the through hole while being biased upward by a spring, and the pair of engaging claws at the bottom end of the plug are engaged with either of the two upper and lower steps. It was configured to switch the vertical position of the When switching the plug from the upper position to the lower position,
Push the plug down against the spring, insert the pair of engaging claws into the pair of slits formed in the lower step, remove it downward from the step, and then rotate the plug 90 degrees around the vertical axis. The pair of locking pawls were then engaged with the lower stepped portion to restrict movement of the plug which is biased upward by the spring. When switching the plug from the lower position to the upper position, the plug is rotated 90 degrees around the vertical axis so that the pair of locking claws fit into the pair of slits, and the spring moves the plug upward. I was doing it.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, the above-mentioned prior invention had the following problems.

That is, when switching the plug to the lower position, remove the pair of locking claws of the plug from the pair of slits in the lower step and rotate the plug 90 degrees, but if this rotation is not done carefully, the plug will rotate. If the plug is turned too far, the pair of locking pawls will fit into the pair of slits again, and the plug will be pulled back upwardly by the spring. Also, when switching the plug to the upper position, the plug must be rotated 90 degrees so that its pair of locking claws fit into the pair of slits in the stepped section, but this time, the pair of engaging claws must fit into the pair of slits. difficult to adapt to. Therefore, the operation of switching the vertical position of the plug in the through hole requires sufficient experience, and it is difficult to perform the switching operation easily.

Furthermore, since springs are used to vertically position the plug within the through-hole, the number of parts is large, and the work of inserting the plug into the through-hole is time-consuming. In addition, the pair of engaging claws formed at the bottom end of the plug and the step formed in the through hole are
The molding process was difficult and the mold structure became complicated, leading to high costs.

Furthermore, when vibrations or the like are applied, the plug tends to rotate unexpectedly in the vertical position, making it difficult to reliably position the plug in the vertical position.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a plug that can extremely easily switch the vertical position of the plug within the through hole, has a small number of parts, is easy to mold, and is low cost.

[Means for solving problems]

A first aspect of the present invention is that, in the tape cassette described above, one of the outer circumferential surface of the plug and the inner circumferential surface of the through hole has a vertical groove and a plurality of upper and lower stages connected to the vertical groove. A groove portion consisting of a horizontal groove is provided, and an engaging portion that is engaged with the groove portion is provided on the other side, and by engaging this engaging portion with the vertical groove, the plug can be moved up and down within the through hole. The plug is movable, and by rotating the plug around the vertical axis, the engaging portion is selectively engaged with the horizontal grooves in the plurality of upper and lower stages, and the plug is positioned in the plurality of upper and lower stages within the through hole. This tape cassette is characterized in that it is configured to

Further, in a second aspect of the present invention, the engaging portion is constituted as an engaging portion having elasticity, and the engaging portion having elasticity is arranged in the plurality of upper and lower horizontal grooves of the groove portion to resist the elasticity. This tape cassette is characterized in that it is provided with an engaged portion for click locking.

[Effect]

According to the above-mentioned technical means, the engaging part provided in the other is always engaged with the groove formed by the vertical groove provided in either the plug or the through hole and the horizontal grooves in multiple stages above and below. Therefore, when switching the plug to multiple positions up and down in the through hole, the plug is rotated around the vertical axis and moved up and down while being guided by the engagement between the groove and the engaging part. be done. Therefore, the plug is not rotated too much, and the switching operation can be performed extremely easily and reliably.

Moreover, since the engagement between the groove part and the engaging part is carried out in a direction perpendicular to the vertical axes of the plug and the through hole, the number of parts can be reduced as no spring is required, and the molding process is extremely easy. It is easy, the mold structure can be simple, and the cost is low.

Furthermore, since the elastic engaging portion is engaged with the click locking engaged portion against the elasticity, the plug is prevented from unexpectedly rotating at multiple positions above and below. can be reliably positioned in multiple positions above and below.

〔Example〕

An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a tape cassette for a video tape recorder will be described below with reference to the drawings.

First, as shown in FIG. 5, a cassette housing 1 of a tape cassette consists of upper and lower halves 2 and 3, and inside this cassette housing 1 are a pair of left and right reels 4 on which magnetic tape (not shown) is wound. is rotatably stored. A front cover 5 is rotatably attached to the front end of the cassette housing 1. Furthermore, two through holes 6 and one through hole 7 are vertically formed at the left and right positions on the front side and at the center position on the rear side of the cassette housing 1, respectively. These through holes 6 and 7 serve as positioning holes for positioning the cassette housing 1 when the tape cassette is installed in a video tape recorder. Plugs 8 and 9 are inserted into these through holes 6 and 7, respectively.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3B, the plug 8 to be inserted into the through hole 6 is made of synthetic resin and molded into a cylindrical shape.
A crank-shaped groove 11 is formed over 180 degrees. The groove portion 11 is composed of a vertical groove 12 and two horizontal grooves 13 and 14 connected to the upper and lower ends of the vertical groove 12 and extending in opposite directions. In the horizontal grooves 13 and 14, a third A
As shown in Figures and Figure 3B, a click locking engaged part 1 consisting of a small protrusion with an approximately triangular cross section.
5 and 16 (hereinafter simply referred to as engaged portions) are formed. Further, a vertical slit 17 is formed on the outer circumferential surface of the plug 8 on the opposite side of the vertical groove 12 to both the upper and lower end surfaces, and grooves 18 and 19 for inserting a screwdriver or the like are formed on both the upper and lower end surfaces of the plug 8 in the same manner. It is formed in the direction. Note that a chamfer 20 is provided on the lower end circumferential surface of the plug 8.

On the other hand, the through hole 6 into which the plug 8 is inserted is
It is formed by cylindrical parts 22 and 23 integrally molded into upper and lower halves 2 and 3 molded from synthetic resin being butted against each other from above and below. A projection 24 with which the slit 17 of the plug 8 is engaged is formed at the upper end of the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion 22 on the upper half 2 side. Further, a pair of slits 25 are formed in the upper part of the cylindrical part 23 of the lower half 3 in a vertical direction from the upper end thereof, and these pair of slits 25 form elastic arms in a part of the cylindrical part 23. 26 is formed. As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, an engaging portion 27 having a notch having a substantially triangular cross section is formed on the upper portion of the arm portion 26 so as to protrude toward the inner circumferential surface side. That is, the engaging portion 27 is elastically displaceable in the radial direction of the through hole 6 by the arm portion 26 formed by the pair of slits 25. Furthermore, 2nd A
As shown in the figure and FIG. 2B, a recess 28 is formed near the lower end of the arm 26 on the outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical portion 23, and this recess 28 allows the arm 26 (i.e., the engaging portion 27) to be is made to be able to be elastically displaced more effectively. Then, the engaging portion 27 is engaged with the vertical groove 12 and the horizontal grooves 13, 14 of the plug 8, and within the horizontal grooves 13, 14, the engaging portion 27 resists elasticity of the engaged portion 15 of the plug 8. , 16. Note that when the cylindrical parts 22 and 23 of the upper and lower halves 2 and 3 are butted against each other to form the through hole 6, the protrusion 24 of the cylindrical part 22 and the engaging part 27 of the cylindrical part 23 as shown in FIG. 3A.
The positional relationship (angle θ) between the plug 8 and the engaged portion 16 of the lower horizontal groove 14 is equal to the positional relationship (angle θ) between the slit 17 of the plug 8 and the engaged portion 16 of the lower horizontal groove 14.

According to the plug 8 and the through hole 6 configured as described above, first, the slit 17 of the plug 8 is engaged with the protrusion 24 on the upper half 2 side, and the plug 8 is inserted into the through hole 6 from the lower end surface. Let it be inserted. When the plug 8 is inserted vertically with the plug 8 positioned by the engagement between the slit 17 and the protrusion 24, the engaging portion 27 on the lower half 3 side is pressed by the chamfered portion 20 of the plug 8. , the engaging portion 27 is displaced outward against elasticity. When the plug 8 is further inserted, the slit 17 of the plug 8 is disengaged from the protrusion 24, and at the same time, the engaging portion 27 is elastically returned to be engaged with the horizontal groove 14 in the lower stage of the plug 8. Note that at this time, the protrusion 24 and the engaging portion 27 in the through hole 6
Since the positional relationship between the slit 17 and the engaged portion 16 in the plug 8 is the same, the second A
As shown in the drawings and FIG. 3A, the engaging portion 27 is accurately engaged with the engaged portion 16 in the lower horizontal groove 14 of the plug 8. Therefore, the plug 8 can be inserted into the through hole 6 very easily, and the plug 8 is thereby positioned at the upper stage within the through hole 6.

Next, insert a screwdriver or the like into the insertion groove 18 on the upper end surface of the plug 8, and rotate the plug 8 approximately 90 degrees around the vertical axis as shown in the direction of arrow a in FIG. 3A. The mating portion 16 is disengaged from the engaging portion 27, and the engaging portion 27 is positioned at the lower end of the vertical groove 12. When the plug 8 is pressed downward here, the plug 8 is moved vertically with the engaging part 27 engaged with the vertical groove 12, and stops when the engaging part 27 is located at the upper end of the vertical groove 12. . Then, when the plug 8 is further rotated approximately 90 degrees around the vertical axis as shown in the direction of arrow a in FIG. 3B,
The engaging portion 27 is engaged with the upper horizontal groove 13, and the engaging portion 27 is click-engaged with the engaged portion 15 within the horizontal groove 13 against elasticity. As a result, the plug 8 is positioned at the lower level within the through hole 6.

When switching the vertical position of the plug 8 from the lower stage to the upper stage using the through hole 6, insert a screwdriver or the like into the insertion groove 19 on the lower end surface of the plug 8 from the lower half 3 side, and then move the plug 8 by the above-mentioned reverse operation. move it.

As described above, the plug 8 is inserted into the second A in the through hole 6.
By selectively switching between the position shown in the figure and the position shown in FIG.
The length to the lower end opening can be switched to two stages: long and short.

By the way, when switching the plug 8 between upper and lower stages as described above, since the engaging part 27 of the through hole 6 is always engaged with the groove part 11 of the plug 8, the plug 8 can be moved in one direction until it is stopped. It is possible to switch between the upper and lower two-stage positions by an extremely simple operation of simply rotating it, pressing it vertically at the stopped position to move it, and further rotating it in the same direction at the stopped position. Moreover, the horizontal grooves 13 in two stages, upper and lower,
14, the engaging portion 27 is clicked into engaged portions 15 and 16 against elasticity, so that the plug 8 is positioned extremely reliably at two positions, upper and lower, and the plug 8 is held at this position. 8 will not rotate unexpectedly.

Next, detection of cassette information based on the upper and lower positions of the plug 8 will be explained. That is, when the tape cassette is loaded into the video tape recorder, the second A
As shown in FIGS. and 2B, the through hole 6 of the cassette case 1 is fitted into the positioning pin 30 on the video tape recorder side, and the cassette case 1 is positioned. A detection pin 32 is provided within the positioning pin 30 and is biased upward by a spring 31 . Here, when the plug 8 is in the upper position as shown in FIG. 2A, the tip of the detection pin 32 does not reach the lower end surface of the plug 8, so the detection pin 32 remains in the upper position, and therefore the positioning pin A pair of holes 33 provided at the bottom of the photo sensor 3 are opened and the photo sensor 3
4 is activated.

Next, when the plug 8 is in the lower position as shown in FIG. 2B, the tip of the detection pin 32 comes into contact with the lower end surface of the plug 8, and the detection pin 32 is pushed down. Then, the pair of holes 33 are closed by the lower end of the detection pin 32, the photo sensor 34 is switched to non-operation, and it is detected that the plug 8 is in the lower position.

Next, the through hole 7 provided at the rear central position of the cassette housing 1 and the plug 9 inserted into the through hole 7 are formed as shown in FIG.
Note that these through holes 7 and plugs 9 differ from the aforementioned through holes 6 and plugs 8 only in the lengths of the cylindrical portions 22 and 23 that are integrally molded with the upper and lower halves 2 and 3, and the lengths of the plugs 9. Everything else is exactly the same,
The same applies to the detection of cassette information by the detection pin 32 of the positioning pin 30. Therefore, the explanation thereof will be omitted.

By the way, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a recess 36 notched toward the rear end of the cassette housing 1 is formed at the opening periphery of the through hole 7 on the upper half 2 side. That is, when the plug 9 is in the upper position as shown by the solid line in FIG. 4, the upper end surface of the plug 9 is flush with the upper surface of the upper half 2, and in this state, the head of the plug 9 is The head of the plug 9 protrudes within the recess 36 and can be visually seen from the rear end of the cassette housing 1 (from the direction of arrow b in FIG. 5). Further, when the plug 9 is in the lower position as shown by the dashed line in FIG. It becomes completely invisible from the rear end. Therefore, even when the tape cassette is stored in a case, storage shelf, etc., the vertical position of the plug 9 within the through hole 7 can be easily determined, and the cassette information can be confirmed.

Next, FIG. 6 shows another embodiment of the above-mentioned plugs 8, 9. That is, while the plugs 8 and 9 described above have crank-shaped grooves 11 on their outer circumferential surfaces, the plug 38 of this embodiment has vertical grooves 39 on its outer circumferential surface, and connections at both upper and lower ends and at the center of the vertical grooves 39. A groove portion 43 is provided, which is made up of horizontal grooves 40, 41, and 42 in three stages, upper, middle, and lower, extending on both sides in the circumferential direction. Note that the horizontal groove 40,
Engaged portions 44, 45, 46 similar to those described above are formed in 41, 42, respectively. According to this plug 38, the vertical position of the plug 38 in the through holes 6, 7 can be switched to three levels: upper, middle, and lower, and the content of the cassette information can be increased. In addition, since the horizontal grooves 40, 41, and 42 are provided on both sides of the outer peripheral surface in the circumferential direction, the plug 38 can be rotated in either direction around the vertical axis when positioning the plug 38 in the upper, middle, and lower three stages. You can let me.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments, and various effective changes can be made based on the technical idea of the present invention.

For example, in the embodiment, a groove was provided on the outer peripheral surface of the plug, and an engaging portion was provided on the inner peripheral surface of the through hole.
On the contrary, the engaging portion may be provided on the outer circumferential surface of the plug and the groove portion may be provided on the inner circumferential surface of the through hole. In addition, the horizontal grooves are the upper and lower 2 grooves shown in the example and other examples.
The number of stages is not limited to three stages (top, middle, and bottom), but it is possible to change the number of stages and shapes to various types. Further, the elastic engaging portions, click-locking engaged portions, etc. shown in the embodiments can be changed into various shapes.

The present invention is not limited to tape cassettes for video tape recorders, but can be applied to tape cassettes for various recording and reproducing devices that record or reproduce various types of information using various recording and reproducing methods.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to extremely easily and reliably perform the switching operation of the plug to the upper and lower positions in the through hole, so that the switching operation of the plug according to the molding information and the detection of the information can be performed very easily and reliably. There are no errors, and it is extremely easy to handle and highly reliable.

Moreover, since no spring is particularly required, the number of parts is small, and the operation of inserting the plug into the through hole is extremely simple. Further, both the plug and the through hole can be easily molded using a mold with a simple structure, and are extremely low cost.

Furthermore, since the plug does not rotate unexpectedly at multiple positions above and below, the plug can be reliably positioned at multiple positions above and below.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a tape cassette for a video tape recorder, in which FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the plug and through-hole portion, and FIGS. 2A and 2B are views inside the through-hole. Cross-sectional views showing the switching state of the plug, Figures 3A and 3
Figure B is Figure 2A line A-A and Figure 2B, respectively.
An enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line B-B in Figure 4; Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view showing another plug in a through hole in another part;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a tape cassette, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a plug in another embodiment. In addition, in the symbols used in the drawings, 1...Cassette housing, 6, 7...Through hole, 8, 9...Plug, 11...Groove portion, 12...Vertical groove, 13, 14
...Horizontal groove, 15, 16...Engaged part for click locking, 27...Engaging part, 38...Plug, 39...
...Vertical groove, 40, 41, 42...Horizontal groove, 43...
... Groove portions, 44, 45, 46... Engaged portions.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A through hole provided vertically in the cassette case, and a plug inserted into the through hole so as to be movable up and down and rotatable around the vertical axis, In the tape cassette configured such that cassette information is detected based on the vertical position of the plug within the through hole, a vertical groove is formed on either the outer circumferential surface of the plug or the inner circumferential surface of the through hole. and a plurality of horizontal grooves connected to the vertical groove, the other being provided with an engaging part that is engaged with the groove, and this engaging part is engaged with the vertical groove. By this, the plug is made vertically movable within the through hole, and by rotating the plug around the vertical axis, the engaging portion is selectively engaged with the horizontal grooves in the plurality of upper and lower stages. A tape cassette characterized in that the plug is configured to be positioned in a plurality of upper and lower stages within the through hole. 2. A through hole provided vertically in the cassette case, and a plug inserted into the through hole so as to be movable up and down and rotatable around the vertical axis, In a tape cassette configured such that cassette information is detected depending on the vertical position of the plug, either the outer peripheral surface of the plug or the inner peripheral surface of the through hole has a vertical groove and a connection to the vertical groove. A groove is provided with a plurality of upper and lower horizontal grooves, and an engaging portion is provided on the other side to be engaged with the groove, and by engaging the engaging portion with the vertical groove, the plug is inserted into the plug. The plug is movable up and down within the through hole, and by rotating the plug around the vertical axis, the engaging portion is selectively engaged with the horizontal grooves in the plurality of upper and lower stages, and the plug is moved into the through hole. The above-mentioned engaging part is constituted as an engaging part having elasticity, and the above-mentioned engaging part having elasticity is configured to be elastic in the horizontal groove of the above-mentioned plurality of upper and lower stages of the groove part. A tape cassette characterized in that it is provided with a click-locking engaged portion that is engaged against the tape.